A Reflection on Marketing 4.0 From the Perspective of Senior Citizens’ Communities of Practice

Wen-Bing Gau

doi:10.1177/2158244019867859

Abstract

Based on an exploration of the marketing strategies employed in senior citizens’ communities of practice (CoPs), this study proposes that the concept of co-construction derived from learning theory is indispensable in Marketing 4.0, which builds on offline and online interaction between and among consumers and the providers of particular goods and services to create a sense of community. Adopting a qualitative approach, the researchers visited 15 Senior Citizens Learning Centers (SCLCs) in Taiwan, and employed semi-structured interview methods to probe selected interviewees’ insights. This resulted in the identification of four key strategies for CoPs’ marketing efforts, all of which work best if governed by a quality process known as legislating peripheral participation (LPP), which is grounded in co-construction. Specifically, it was found that an SCLC with a unique and high-quality LPP process can not only attract senior citizens’ participation, but also transform their roles from customers to volunteers. The study also assesses whether and how well the four identified strategies can be implemented simultaneously, along with their implications for Marketing 4.0 and for the management of senior citizen–specific CoPs. On a theoretical level, this study highlights the differences between the educational concept of co-construction and the Marketing 4.0 concept of co-creation: with the former being a mutual engagement that integrates buyers and sellers into a cooperative interaction. This process, which takes into account the growth of group identity, individuals’ sense of meaning, and marketing potential, is an important force in Marketing 4.0 that transforms customers into advocates.

Highlights

The mainstream of marketing techniques is very much a product of its time, but its evolution to date can be usefully divided into four main phases
Developing quality products and fostering customers’ positive experiences. Some promotional methods such as direct messaging, Internet community building, and outdoor LED-screen advertising were used by a minority of the sampled Senior Citizens Learning Centers (SCLCs) (Ms G and Mr I), 12 of the 15 interviewees agreed that the most effective approach was word of mouth
According to Mr A, for example, when senior citizens felt that a class provided by their SCLC was meaningful, they were happy to share their positive feelings about it with their peers: They agree with what we do and enjoy being here

Summary

Introduction

The mainstream of marketing techniques is very much a product of its time, but its evolution to date can be usefully divided into four main phases. As explained by Kotler, Kartajaya, and Setiawan (2010), these are Marketing 1.0, which is product-driven; Marketing 2.0, the customer-centric provision of both tangible and intangible products to fit customers’ needs; Marketing 3.0, a human-centric approach that associates products with varied emotional components that connect customers and businesses; and Marketing 4.0, which highlights connectivity and technology, through which sellers do not try to promote their products to particular individual customers, but instead create a community that includes existing customers, potential customers, and themselves. Within the type of community fostered by Marketing 4.0, sellers and buyers are bound together not by formal membership rules but by a sense of belonging and by shared meanings, which they co-create alongside products, ideas, feelings, and visions (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2017).

Results

Discussion

Conclusion